Wire fence



No. 606,737. Patented July 5, I898. A. B. PROBASCO.

W|RE FENCE.

(Application filed Nov. 22, 1897.)

(N0 Model.)

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UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABRAHAM B, PROBASOO, OF NEAR LEBANON, OHIO.

WIRE F ENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 606,737, dated July 5, 1898.

Application iiled November 22, 1897. Serial No. 659,360; (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM B. PROBASOO, a citizen of the United States, residing near Lebanon, Warren county, State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Wire Fence; and I do declare the following to be a clear, full, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, attention being called to the accompanying drawings, with the reference letters and'numeral's marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to the construction and erection of wire fences, particularly of that kind where a number of wires, one above the other, are stretched between posts. The ends of these wires after they are stretched tight are fixedly secured to the end or corner post-s, While intermediate posts are provided wherever necessary and on which the wires are merely supported to prevent them from sagging, without, however, being fixedly connected to these latter.

My invention relates particularly to the manner of connecting the ends of the wires, after they are stretched, to the posts, the connection being very simple and inexpensive, re-

quiring no expensive fittings orscrew devices of any kind, so that only arequisite tool and the wire are required, and nothing else not within reach of the farmer or within his ability to make himself. Theconnection is furtherof a kind which permits retightening atany time for taking up slack in case the wirebe comes loose. n 1

A tool most suited for constructing this wire fencethat is, for stretching the wires and connecting their ends to the postsis described and illustrated in my Patent No. 591,495. With this tool a wire is stretched, and without releasing the same its end is at once connected at the point to which it has been stretched. V p

In one of my prior patents, No. 592,020, I have shown a wire fence constructed in a similar manner and having substantially the same advantages as against other and prior wire fencesl In that fence the looped wire ends were passed through perforations in the posts, with the ends of their loops projecting and held. in place by a retaining member in-' te rvenin g between the latter and the post and inserted into said loops. Objections against that fence were the necessity of drilling holes through the post and the extra members required for retaining the loops in position. Another objection resides in the fact that that part of the wire within the hole is sub-' ject to the action of acids contained in the sap of most Wood, which induces rust and leads to quick destruction of the wire.

The object of my present invention is,therefore, to provide a construction which avoids the time-consuming drilling of holes and does not subject the wire to destroying influences.

In the following specification, and particularly pointed out in the claims, is found a full description of the invention, its parts and manner of construction, which latter is also illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which Figure l is a perspective view of a post,showing some of the wires partly or wholly in place and others about to be connected. Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section of the post,

showing a wire with the loop at its end in position and engaged by a wire-stretching implement for the purpose of taking the slack out 'of the wire. Fig. 3 in a similar view shows the same parts with the wires stretched and the connection completed. Fig. at shows a modified manner of forming the loop...

For the purpose of obviating the drilling of'holes the ends of the wires are provided with a loop which-passes around-the posts in stead of through perforations in them,so that the posts holdthe wires directly without the intervention of a member inserted in the protruding end of the loop which projects through the perforation. The size of the loop, whereby in this present case is always meant the loop passing around the post, is considerably in excess to the size of the post, so that 'it may be reduced by twisting, to reduce also ing this loop (indicated by 7) is bypassing the end of wire 8 around the post Sand securing The simplest Way of formsuch end by twisting it around the main wire, as shown at 11 in Fig. 1-. The objections to forming the loop in this manner are that during the stretching process the back-turned end frequently slips on the main branch of the wire, thereby not only reducing the size of the loop, but also causing an unequal strain on the two branches of the loop, which leads frequently to breakage of one. The preferred manner of forming this loop '7 is therefore as shown at a in Fig. 1, where first a small supplementary loop 12 is formed at the end of wire 8, which loop receives apiece of wire out of which the loop 7 is formed. At a the preparatory step for forming such loop is shown, while at h it is shown about completed, the wire having previously been drawn as tight as is possible. Next the ends of the wire forming the loop are arranged and put in the proper position and shape to be capable of attachment to a stretching implement. My tool, previously referred to, is provided with a hook for such attachment, and therefore if it is used the wire end of the loop should be twisted and bent accordingly and as shown at 0, so as to form a suitable loop lficapable ofreceivingsuchhook. Thislatter is indicated by 1i and is connected to one of two members, which are mounted on each other with a screw connection, so that each one may be rotated on the other. (See detailed description in patent referred to.) First member 15, while resting against the post, as shown at (Z, is rotated on member 10, with the effect of causing the latter, with hook it, to move away from the post, as shown in Fig. 2, drawing the wire loop after it and thereby tightening and stretching the wire 8, without, however, twisting the loop. \Vhen the proper tension has been attained, this rotation is ceased, and with the loop and wire held to the point to which they have been stretched the other member 16, with the hook in engagement, is rotated, with the effect of twisting the loop, as shown in Fig. 3. This rotation is continued until, the drawn-out part of the loop has been closed up against the post, thereby holding the loop and wire permanently in position. Member 15 is now rotated in proper direction to cause it to move away from the post a sufficient distance to clear hook l-l to permit disengagement of the tool. The projecting twisted part of the loop is then bent back toward the post, as shown at 0, so as to form no obstacle of any kind. It might also be cut off, but is preferably retained, so that if a wire should slacken at any time a stretching-tool can again be applied and by the addition of a few more twists the lost tension may be restored.

The tension of the wires will in most cases be found to be sufficient to prevent them from slipping 011 the post; but, if desirable, notches 17 or staples 18 maybe provided for such purpose.

The manncr of supporting the wires on intermediate posts is not material, but the connection to them must be such as not to interfere with the movement of the wire during stretching. The most suitable form of post is square, set diagonally, as shown, thereby presenting a corner to which to apply the tool.

I am aware that it is not new to tie objects together with wire, the ends of which are twisted to retain them in position. In my case the twists are not applied for such purpose, but serve to hold a previously-stretched fence-wire to the tension which it has attained.

Having described my invention, I claim as new 1. In a fence consisting of wires stretched between posts, the combination of square end or corner posts set so as to be with their (Ziagonalc in line with the wires, a loop on those ends of the latter which are to be connected to the posts above mentioned, the size of such loops being considerably in excess of the size of the post, the excess of the loop which has the fence-wire connected to it being all on one side of the post with a clear space between it and the nearest corner of the post, while the other part of the loop rests against the corner opposite to the one mentioned, the excess of the size of the loop permitting the same to be reduced by twisting it against the corner last mentioned for the purpose of stretching the fence-wire.

2. I11 a fence consisting of wires stretched between posts, the combination of wires 8, be ing considerably short of reaching the post and having loops 12 at their ends, a loop 7 attached to each loop 12 and passing around the post for the purpose of connecting the wire to the post, such wires being stretched by reducing the size of the loop 7 by twisting the ends of the wire forming it against the post whereby such ends are prevented from 001m in g apart all as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ABRAHAM l IROBASCO.

IVitnesses:

O. SPENGEL, ARTHUR KLINE. 

